Gene Hackman on Mystique and the Everyman Actor Divide
Gene Hackman, Oscar winner, reflects on the divide between enigmatic film stars and relatable, down-to-earth actors, sharing why he sees himself as the latter.
It’s not hard to sort film stars into neat little boxes, but it’s always a surprise when someone steps outside their usual lane. Take Adam Sandler popping up in Punch Drunk Love—no one saw that coming. Some actors stick to safe, crowd-pleasing blockbusters, never venturing near anything too artsy. There’s a range, of course, from the likes of Tom Hanks, who’s got the chops, to Vin Diesel, who’s more about the action than the acting.
Then you’ve got those who are happy to mix it up—Nicole Kidman springs to mind—taking on both experimental projects and the odd mainstream flick. And at the far end, there are the diehards who only go for the most offbeat, boundary-pushing roles, never giving in to Hollywood’s demands. Vincent Gallo’s a classic example. The real standouts, though, are the ones who find a balance, taking on both challenging and more accessible roles. They get to try their hand at all sorts of characters and directors, keeping things interesting while still earning a steady pay packet.
Hackman’s Take on Star Power
Gene Hackman, who’s got an Oscar on his shelf, reckons there’s another way to look at it. He sees a split between actors who have an air of mystery and those who come across as more familiar, almost like someone you’d know from down the street. He puts himself firmly in the latter camp, while he reckons some old-school legends, like Cary Grant, had that elusive quality that kept punters guessing.
“There’s several kinds of movie actors who are popular,” Hackman told Film Comment. “There’s the kind who have the mystique. Cary Grant is a good example. I would not begin to try to tell you who he is, what he’s about personally. But I know from watching him that he’s a great actor and does what he does better than anybody has ever done”.
He went on,
“So there’s that kind of mystique. Then there’s the other end of the pole, which is guys like myself. And then there are guys who probably fall in between, who have a little bit of what I have, maybe, and also have developed a kind of mystique, through whatever it is they do in their private lives.”
The Allure of the Ordinary
Hackman’s not convinced you need to be wrapped in mystery to be any good. Sure, that quality helped make stars like Grant unforgettable, even if he never nabbed an Oscar despite a string of classic roles. Grant’s charm and that hard-to-pin-down vibe kept him in the spotlight, but Hackman sees value in being the bloke next door.
He explained,
“I guess the audiences respond to the proletarian man they see in me: the working guy who’s doing vicariously what they would like to do. I think that’s why essentially The French Connection worked. I don’t have any illusions about my being the only actor who could have played that. A lot of guys could have.”
Familiar Faces and Audience Connection
When viewers spot someone on screen who feels like a regular person, it draws them in. There’s a sense of recognition, a feeling that they know the character, which can be both a blessing and a curse.
As Hackman put it,
“They’re able to say that, in some funny kind of way, you know, ‘Yeah, I know who that guy is.’ And that works both positively and negatively, I think, because what it does is give you a kind of familiarity, without the mystique, which is what people are really attracted to, I think.”